Journey to the West: A clone sacrifices to the heavens, possessing boundless magical power.

It turns out she was after my escape technique.

Fan Yuan understood, but his vigilance remained undiminished.

"My strength is too weak, and I'm afraid I'll only hold you back, so I'm afraid I can't comply," Fan Yuan said directly.

Don't rush to refuse.

Madam Bai seemed to have anticipated his words, and with a flick of her wrist, a crimson pill appeared in her palm.

"This is a Mind Concentration Pill, an excellent medicine for advancing to the mid-stage of Spirit Refinement. This will be your reward after the deed is done."

Concentration Pill!

Fan Yuan was startled. He had once used his clone to read extensively in the library of Wuzhuang Temple, and had a thorough understanding of the way of alchemy. He knew that this pill was priceless in the market and could tempt countless cultivators in the early stage of the Spirit Refinement stage.

Fan Yuan's pupils constricted slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

The greater the temptation, the deeper the trap.

"and……"

Madam Bai stepped forward, her voice low and laced with a hint of threat and seduction, "Last time I wanted to invite your friend Shen Feng, but he refused, and as a result, we missed a great opportunity. Young man, you are a smart man, you should know that once some opportunities are missed, you will regret it for the rest of your life."

Her words were highly suggestive.

It was both an offer of enticement and a warning: I've got my eye on you, and if you don't go, you won't be able to stay in the market any longer.

Fan Yuan looked at the pill, remained silent for a moment, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

After a long while, he raised his head and looked directly at Madam Bai.

"I am deeply grateful for your kindness, senior."

Fan Yuan spoke slowly, his voice steady, without a trace of greed: "It's just that I'm unlucky. A few days ago, I was too eager for quick success when cultivating the Wind Technique and injured my meridians. Now my spiritual power is weak and I need to go into seclusion to recuperate. If I were to force myself to go with you to that dangerous place to break the formation, I'm afraid I would not only be unable to help, but I would also ruin your important plans."

Refused.

And it was a rejection with absolutely no room for negotiation.

The reason given was plausible: a mishap during cultivation and damage to the meridians. It was a universal excuse that both showed weakness and blocked any possibility of persuasion from the other party.

Since the mission is to break through the formation, a fully-fledged fighting force is naturally required. What would a wounded soldier do? Send him to his death?

Madam Bai's charming smile froze.

She originally thought that with her beauty and the priceless Moon Essence Pill, even the most cautious rogue cultivator would be tempted.

After all, in this cruel world of cultivation, who can resist the temptation of breaking through to a higher realm?

But this seemingly ordinary little Xiu actually refused.

"Did it damage your meridians?"

Madam Bai narrowed her eyes slightly, and in that instant, her originally clear eyes turned deathly white, with two ghostly green flames flickering deep within her pupils.

A suffocating, chilling aura erupted from her body without warning, instantly enveloping the entire alley.

This isn't spiritual pressure, but... malevolent energy.

A deathly aura originating from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, accumulated over the years.

Fan Yuan felt his hair stand on end, as if he were being stared at by a prehistoric beast, and even his blood was about to freeze.

But he gritted his teeth, stood ramrod straight, and kept his hands in the clasped-hands position, motionless.

He's gambling.

I'm betting that Madam Bai won't dare to make a move in Qingmufang.

This is the largest market town on the outskirts of Longevity Mountain. Although it is a mixed bag of people, the person in charge behind this market town is a Dao Integration Realm cultivator who has a mysterious connection with Wuzhuang Temple.

really.

That terrifying aura lasted only a moment before receding like the tide.

Madam Bai suppressed the ghostly fire in her eyes and transformed back into the delicate and beautiful woman she once was. However, this time, there was no smile on her face, only a cold gloom.

"Fellow Daoist, you have quite the airs."

Madam Bai snorted coldly, her voice sharp and grating: "You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences. In this Qingmu Market, there are few who dare to offend me, Madam Bai. I hope you won't regret it later."

Having said that, she said no more. With a flick of her sleeve, she stirred up a sweet and pungent fragrance, turned and disappeared into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

Only after confirming that the nauseating aroma had completely dissipated did Fan Yuan slowly lower his hands.

At this moment, his back was soaked with cold sweat.

"That was close."

Fan Yuan took a deep breath to calm his wildly beating heart. Just a moment ago, he had truly felt the threat of death.

If he were in the wild, even with his newly acquired Wind Release technique, he would probably still be doomed.

He didn't return to the inn immediately, but stood there, his mind racing as he reviewed everything that had just happened.

"Madam Bai...white bones..."

A flash of understanding crossed Fan Yuan's eyes. Combining his memories of "Journey to the West" from his previous life with the deathly aura that had just erupted, the name of the White Bone Demon resurfaced in his mind.

That is, the legendary Corpse Demon.

"It really is her."

Fan Yuan pondered to himself that in the original story, the White Bone Demon was the first truly powerful demon without any background that Tang Sanzang and his disciples encountered. Although she was eventually killed by Sun Wukong with three blows, the fact that she was able to escape from the monkey's clutches twice was enough to prove how clever she was at protecting herself.

"Not just a demon, but a ghost immortal."

Fan Yuan had read "Tales of the Three Realms" in the library of Wuzhuang Temple, and had a clear understanding of the cultivation system of this era.

Immortals are categorized into celestial immortals, earthly immortals, human immortals, and ghost immortals, among others.

Ghost immortals are those who transcend the yin realm, whose divine forms are unclear. They have no surname in the ghost realm and no name in the three mountains. Although they do not enter the true stream, they are far beyond the mortal world.

This Lady Bai is a spirit formed from white bones, and she follows the path of corpse liberation cultivation, which is the way of ghost immortals.

"In terms of realm, she is at least at the level of a Ghost Immortal. If converted to the cultivation realm of an immortal cultivator, she is definitely above the Dao Integration realm, and may even have touched the threshold of the Earth Immortal realm."

Fan Yuan became increasingly alarmed as he thought about it.

A powerful demon at the level of a ghost immortal is hiding in this small Qingmu Market, disguised as an ordinary human female cultivator, and engaging in the business of abducting low-level cultivators.

The original text mentions that the White Bone Demon was originally a pile of bones. She transformed into human form by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon. The reason she wanted to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh was to achieve immortality and shed her demon form.

This shows that although she has profound cultivation, her foundation is extremely poor, and she is constantly threatened by the three calamities.

Lightning strikes you, fire burns you, wind blows you away.

As a corpse demon, she fears heavenly lightning and yang fire the most.

"She dared not make a move in the market, not only because she was wary of that Dao-Merging expert, but also because she was afraid of exposing her demonic aura and attracting a heavenly calamity."

Fan Yuan felt much more at ease.

Once you see through their cards, most of your fear will dissipate.

This White Bone Demon appears powerful, but in reality, she is all bark and no bite. She needs to devour the flesh and blood essence of cultivators to maintain her physical body, and she also needs to rely on the primordial yang of cultivators to resist the backlash of yin energy within her body.

The so-called ancient cultivation cave was nothing more than her dining table, and the so-called Moon Essence Pill was nothing more than feed for pigs.

If you really go with her, you'll probably be drained of your life essence and turned into a pile of bones just a hundred miles from the market.

"Want to eat me?"

Fan Yuan smirked coldly, "Aren't you afraid of breaking your teeth?"

Now that we've already crossed the line, there's nothing left to hold back.

Fan Yuan flashed through several complicated alleyways, and after confirming that no one was following him, he plunged into the inn he had rented.

"From today onwards, I will not leave this place."

Fan Yuan made up his mind to stay put and not come out.